


moving up to a higher ground

by Pomfry



Category: Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: And Hugh adores Tetsu, Domestic Fluff, Gen, Slice of Life, Tetsu loves Hugh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 14:11:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14190720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pomfry/pseuds/Pomfry
Summary: "Hey, Hugh." Hugh makes a questioning noise, glancing up at him. "Want to go to the park?"Hugh swings his hands, skipping ahead and waiting for Tetsu to catch up. "Indeed!"(A peek into the daily lives of the Pride Pair.)





	moving up to a higher ground

**Author's Note:**

> As soon as I saw Hugh, I knew. I knew he was going to be my favorite.
> 
> And I was proven right. I have two more works in progress centered around Pride Pair and I most likely will write more. I just love them. So much.

The first time Tetsu has to go to school after forming a contract with Hugh, he's confused.  
  
"Why are you following me," he asks the little kid.  
  
Hugh sends him a little smile, patting his leg. "I need to stay near you," he says, voice high pitched like all childrens are. "Otherwise you'll start to hurt, and I don't want that."  
  
Tetsu shrugs, reaching down and picking Hugh up, shifting the coffin on his shoulder. "Okay," he says easily. "Why are you a kid right now?"  
  
Hugh points his walking stick at the sky. "It's cloudy out, so the sun isn't hitting me. Once it's sunny, I will turn into a bat."  
  
Tetsu nods. "That makes sense."  
  
Hugh scoffs, kicking his little legs. "Of course it does. I'm _pride!_ One of the oldest of the servamps!"  
  
Tetsu hums, patting Hugh's back as he positions him so he's more comfortable on his hip. "So what will happen if we're separated?"  
  
"You'll be fine for the first few hours. But," and here Hugh frowns, "after a bit, your body will ache and feel heavier. After twenty-four hours, you'll die. I don't want that, not after I just formed a contract with you." Then he squirms, scrunching up his nose. "Now put me down! I need to make a good first impression!"  
  
Tetsu nods, kneeling and gently setting Hugh down on the sidewalk. "We're a block away from school."  
  
Hugh huffs. "I know. Let's go! You're my contractor, I want to see how in awe of you they are!"  
  
His eyes are practically sparkling. Tetsu clicks his tongue. "I don't think they will be-"  
  
"Nonsense!" Hugh flips his cape. "They will be in awe of you! I can guarantee it!"  
  
Tetsu raises his hands in surrender, coffin slipping quietly onto the ground behind him. "Okay, Hugh."  
  
Hugh harrumphs and starts walking. Tetsu keeps pace easily.

The school looms above them, Tetsu blinking at it tiredly with Hugh clinging to his leg. "You sure you want to come in here," Tetsu asks after a moment. "It's boring. And crowded."  
  
Hugh hits him with his walking stick. "Yes, I'm sure!"  
  
Tetsu shrugs and opens the door, walking inside with Hugh trotting behind him, chattering on about something. Tetsu nods and makes soft sounds of affirmation as people stare, whispers climbing up towards the sky. He's used to whispers - he looks like a teenager when he's in middle school, he has bad memory, he takes things too literally, he could go on. But now that he's carrying a coffin and a small child is toddling after him, a tall top hat and cape flapping at his feet, the whispers double, then triple.  
  
"See, Tetsu," Hugh says loudly, grinning up at him brightly. "They are in awe!"  
  
Tetsu smiles back down at him. He doesn't say that they're in awe because of the fact he's Hugh's eve, that he's the 'master' of an immortal vampire. He only says, "So they are," and leaves it at that.  
  
Hugh hums, tilting his hat back and staring at the lockers. "Why are there lockers?"  
  
"It's so we can put our coats and such."  
  
"Okay. Where are we going?"  
  
"English."  
  
Hugh's face lights up and he tugs sharply on Tetsu's pants. "I know English!"  
  
"You do," Tetsu asks in surprise, stopping. He's never been good at English - the language is just so contradictory.  
  
"Yup!" Hugh nods, looking satisfied that he's going to be useful to his eve. "To be a true vampire, you have to know a lot of languages."  
  
"Is that so," Tetsu says, his own curiosity making him lean down to pick Hugh up and put him on his shoulders.  
  
Hugh grins down at him, little fangs poking his lips. "Absolutely! You go everywhere and have to form contracts, and to do that you have to understand the language and speak it yourself."

Tetsu blinks up at him. "When did you learn Japanese?"  
  
Hugh hums, crossing his arms on Tetsu's head and resting his chin on them as he thinks; Tetsu adjusts his grip on the coffin and makes his way to his classroom, resolutely ignoring the murmurs that follow them. They don't matter, anyhow. What _does_ matter is Hugh and the way he's absently kicking Tetsu's chest.  
  
"Oh! Around four hundred years ago!" Hugh exclaims, pointing his pipe in the air. "I came here to look for a new contractor and served them for about ten years. Then they got killed."  
  
There was a change in his tone, a sad, wistful little sigh as he said killed. Tetsu glances up sharply; Hugh may be centuries old, but Tetsu views him as a genius younger brother, and he doesn't like it when Hugh's upset.  
  
"What were they like," he asks, and Hugh pats his head, looking ahead with distant eyes.  
  
"They were kind," he says fondly. "And kind of a ditz. They were the apprentice for a healer for their village and hated long kimonos. They had inky black hair and hands rough from work. They gave me a name and a little fan with my name painted on it. They liked to play with their siblings." A bittersweet smile crosses Hugh's face. "When they were twenty they got hurt badly from falling from a tree. I wasn't fast enough to watch them and their Lead wasn't meant for breaking falls. They - the infection got worse." His voice breaks and he pulls his hat down to cover his eyes. "For the next month or so, I had to watch them fade because nothing the healers did could make it better. You know what's funny, Tetsu?"  
  
Tetsu, who has been listening intently and not missing a word because this is _Hugh_ and he rarely talks about his former eves, asks, "What?"  
  
Hugh's little hands shake. "I know now it was because of the medicine they used that they didn't survive." A tear hits Tetsu's cheek and he sets the coffin down, lifting Hugh up and pulling him to his chest, gently rocking from side to side.

"They were so good at healing," Hugh says, voice breaking. "They loved to help people and were scared of storms and loved the sun and made me a yukata. We played hide and seek in the woods and they were scared of the legends. They let me sleep in the same futon as them and stayed up so they could see the full moon."  
  
Tetsu hums lowly, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry," he says heavily, and Hugh's tears soak his shirt.  
  
"They hated sake but loved fish and called me a cheater when I turned into a bat to get away during games. They - I just-"  
  
"What did he say to that kid?  
  
"Why does he have him anyway?"  
  
"The kid looks ridiculous!"  
  
Whispers, cruel gossip, and it makes Tetsu _angry._ So angry, in fact, that he opens his eyes and glares.  
  
Tetsu knows he's intimidating. He knows that he can look like he'll kill someone with his bare hands, and he doesn't like to, but Hugh is _crying,_ sobbing into Tetsu's chest about a long departed friend, and Tetsu just doesn't _care._  
  
They stop talking.  
  
"You miss them," he says softly, and Hugh nods, almost angrily.  
  
"I miss all of my eves," he says quietly. "Every single one of them. I bond with them until the end of their lives and I stay for a bit until the mourning period finished. After that - I leave. I can't stay, not when everything looks empty without my eve there. It's just too -"  
  
"Painful," Tetsu finishes, and Hugh grips his shirt tight in one hand.

"Yes," he says, and it's bitter. "I leave and I don't come back, not until everything is so unfamiliar that I won't see anything that reminds me of them. It's - it's why I haven't been to Japan in nearly four hundred years. I only came back when I saw that nothing looks the same."  
  
Tetsu hums, tucking Hugh more securely against his chest. "You haven't been mourning, have you."  
  
"I lose my name, the name they give me, when my contract ends." Hugh leans back, wiping at his eyes harshly. "I lose it and my contract item is taken away. The fan they gave me was ripped out of my hands by their mother. I can't even say it."  
  
Tetsu blinks, thinking of the little pipe he gave him being taken away, and suddenly feels cold. He thinks of Hugh not being able to say his name, of not being able to keep the little reminder of him and grits his teeth. "Well," he says mildly, "that won't happen with me. I can engrave your name onto the key, if you want."  
  
Hugh smiles at him, and his face looks like a five year old that's had too much. "Thanks, Tetsu."  
  
The bell rings and Hugh tilts his head back, slipping out of Tetsu's hold and looks up at him, all of two foot six and yet more ancient than Tetsu could ever be. His eyes are red and there are tear stains on his cheeks. Hugh is a contradiction - he looks five and acts like it, but he's also possibly older than Japan itself. "Best get to class," he says cheerfully, pulling his cape up to cover his face. "A true vampire never misses an opportunity to learn." His voice is cheerful, filled with innocent joy, but Tetsu saw the way his lips shook, can recognize the brittleness underneath the false happiness.  
  
He doesn't push it. Sometimes, you need to let it go, to let them put up their masks and laugh their fake laughs. Sometimes, you need to let them grin out at the world, wavering but there.  
  
"Okay," he says, picking his coffin up and following Hugh into the classroom.  
  
Sometimes, you need to let things lie.

 

\--

 

Hugh's back to his normal self within five minutes, all evidence of distress wiped clean as he hangs from Tetsu's shoulders and offers advice for English.  
  
"This here," he says enthusiastically while pointing towards a four letter word, "means _last."_ He says it in English, a faint accent curling around the words.  
  
Tetsu wrinkles his nose. "I don't know what you said."  
  
Hugh laughs, fingers playing with the loose collar of Tetsu's uniform. "It means last. Like, last in line, last to get, last to win. The night will last forever!" He cackles like a villain, one hand pointing to the sky.  
  
Tetsu smiles faintly, patting Hugh's hand. "Okay."  
  
Hugh flops down, sighing heavily. "I'm bored. Helping you learn English is fun, but the day is still cloudy. I could be playing outside."  
  
Tetsu hums in sympathy. "If it's still cloudy we can play at the park after school."  
  
Hugh beams at him. "Okay!"  
  
And that seems to be the last straw for the teacher. Expression darkening like a thundercloud, she marches towards his desk, eyeing the coffin leaning against his desk and the five year old hanging from his shoulders. "Mr. Sendagaya," she says sharply, a frown at her lips as they both blink up at her.

"Yes, sensei," Tetsu asks, a little confused, and Hugh sticks his tongue out at her. "Hugh, please stop."  
  
"Why is there a child here with you?" She sounds irritated with him, Tetsu notes, although he doesn't see anything out of the ordinary. Hugh tugs at his hair.  
  
Ah. That might be it.  
  
"He followed me," Tetsu says honestly, and Hugh nods.  
  
"I did," he says. "A true vampire must never leave their eve."  
  
Tetsu doesn't start at that. As far as he knows, vampires are things that aren't widely known but aren't exactly a secret.  
  
Her lips tighten but her eyes soften. Hugh tends to have that effect on people. "What's your name?"  
  
"Hugh the Dark Algernon the Third!" Hugh grins at her. Tetsu glances at his work and feels like tearing his hair out. Why is English so hard?  
  
"Why aren't you in school, Hugh-kun," she asks, voice soft and high like people's tend to be when speaking to a child. "I'm sure it'll be more interesting than this."  
  
Hugh frowns and stares at her. "A true vampire must never leave their eve," he repeats, starting to sound annoyed. "And I am a true vampire."  
  
She sighs. "I'm sure you are," she says, reaching out to pick him up. "But you need to go to school yourself."  
  
Hugh sits up, glaring at her. "I am _not_ leaving Tetsu," he snaps, eyes narrowed. "You cannot make me."  
  
Tetsu sighs and puts down his pencil. It's clearly a lost cause to work right now. "Sensei," he says, straight faced, "please just let him stay."  
  
She shakes her head. "I'm afraid he can't. He needs to go to school and he can't stay here."  
  
Hugh shuts his mouth, sinking down until the rim of his hat is poking into Tetsu's cheek. "No."  
  
Tetsu sighs internally and stands, Hugh instantly grabbing his neck so he could stay put. He grabs the coffin, his school work, and bows. "We'll just leave then," he says politely, and moves towards the door.  
  
Hugh cheers in his ear. "Yes! We don't need this education!" Tetsu smiles faintly as he heads into the hallway.

“What do you want to do, Hugh,” he asks, eyes trained on the sky. It's still cloudy, and the weatherman said it would be for the rest of the day, though he could be wrong.  
  
“I want a parfait,” Hugh declares after tapping his chin in thought, and Tetsu checks his pockets for money. He has money for snacks and his bento, so it should be okay.  
  
"Okay," he agrees.  
  
"And I want it covered in your blood, as a true vampire should!" Hugh leans in close, a mischievous grin on his face. "Your blood is delicious."  
  
Tetsu nods. "You're so nice, Hugh."  
  
"I know!"  
  
Tetsu doesn't know why people would consider Hugh's comments creepy, but his parents do at times. Tetsu doesn't mind.  
  
Hugh sits up straight, eyes trained on an alley. "Tetsu," he says quietly. "I need to go over there."  
  
Tetsu raises an eyebrow but sets Hugh down anyway, watching idly as Hugh scurries off, little cape flapping at his ankles. A moment later Hugh returns, his hand bleeding and a woman following him, eyes wide. Her clothes are torn and her face is pale and Tetsu grimaces, setting the coffin down. "Hey, Hugh. Who's she?"  
  
Hugh grins, waving a hand at her grandly. "She's my newest subclass!"  
  
Tetsu blinks then bows. "Hello, it's nice to meet you."  
  
She gives him a weak wave. "Hi."  
  
"Her name is Kaho," Hugh supplies after a moment of awkward silence. "She was dying."  
  
"Oh." Tetsu shrugs. Hugh had already explained subclasses to him. "Do you want to go get a parfait with us?"  
  
"I-I don't-" She stops talking. "I don't have my wallet."  
  
Tetsu nods. "Keys? You can change and get some money."  
  
Hugh smiles at them both fondly. "Tetsu's a nice guy," he says. "The best eve I could ask for."

Tetsu pats his hat. "Thank you, Hugh."  
  
Kaho watches them, red eyes disbelieving, but she slowly nods. "I-yeah, okay."  
  
Tetsu heaves his coffin up on his shoulder again. "Alright. Where to?" Hugh tugs sharply on his pant leg and Tetsu obligingly lets him scramble onto his shoulders.  
  
"My apartment is a block away. I was on my way to work when I got attacked," Kaho says, starting forward. Her arms shake as she folds them across her chest. Tetsu follows sedately behind, Hugh humming above him.

Kaho's apartment is a small place with a brown wood door and filled with knick-knacks, little eiffel towers and pyramids and statue of liberties cluttered on the island. She waves to the couch, a touch of nerves in the lines of her face as she says, "You can just - sit here. I'll go change." Tetsu nods calmly and she flees to her room, pale pink hair the last thing he sees of her.  
  
"She was mugged, and then threatened with assault before they stabbed her," Hugh intones, eyes dark beneath his hat. "I plan to find them and turn them in. They hurt my subclass."  
  
Tetsu frowns slightly. "That's not nice of them."  
  
Hugh chuckles, patting his cheek. "No, it's not. It's why she's so scared." He sighs, then, hopping on top of the coffin. "She's only twenty," he says sadly. "I'm hoping that time spent with my other subclasses will help."  
  
Tetsu shrugs. "I'm sure it'll all work out." He pauses, looking at Hugh questionly. "Right?" He wants it to. He wants Kaho to be happy, the way she is in the photos on the walls. She's laughing, pink hair tied back with her arms around two people who are laughing right along with her. He wants her to be happy, or at least feel safe. “Do you think she can learn how to protect herself now?”

Hugh nods once, firmly. "Absolutely," he says seriously. "She's a vampire now, my subclass. I can have my more powerful subclass teach her how." He smiles, and he looks like a particularly happy five year old. "It'll be okay, Tetsu. Don't you worry your head about it. I'm the servamp of pride, remember?"  
  
Tetsu smiles back, relief making his bones lighter. Hugh always knows what to say.  
  
A small clearing of the throat and they both look over to see Kaho in pants and a ruffled deep blue shirt. "Um, sorry I took so long," she says weakly.  
  
Hugh leaps off the coffin, landing in front of her. "It's okay! A _true_ vampire never gets impatient with their subclass. Want to go eat parfaits now?"  
  
She fidgets with her shirt but nods, heading over to grab a pair of high heels. Tetsu tilts his head as he watches her. "What are you staring at," she asks, and Tetsu shakes his head.  
  
"You know you're safe with us, right?" He says it so suddenly that she only stares at him. "Hugh's really strong and so am I. We have a coffin that can do some really cool things. So, you're safe. You don't have to be scared or anything."  
  
She gapes at him, heels forgotten in her hand. Hugh cackles. "That's my eve! Always so forward." He walks forward to tab her leg. "But he's right. You're my subclass now, a new one at that. I won't let anything happen to you." He flashes a peace sign, grinning. "Promise!"  
  
For the first time since he met her, Tetsu sees something other than fright enter her eyes. Instead, it's relief, a wordless thank you. "Okay," she says softly, kneeling to look Hugh in the eyes. "I believe you."  
  
Hugh laughs. "You better!"  
  
Kaho giggles and slips on her heels, wiping at her eyes discreetly.

Tetsu doesn't judge. After all, Hugh’s snickering at her feet and Kaho feels safe enough to cry. That's enough for him.

  
\--

 

Nobody questions the coffin at the restaurant, which Tetsu is grateful for. He doesn't really want to explain it. Hugh gets stuck in a high chair when they sit, something he looks sour about. Kaho just looks nervous.

Tetsu looks at his coffin and wonders if he should advertise his hot springs on it. Something to think about.  
  
"What kind of parfait do you want," Tetsu asks to break the silence, and Hugh lights up.  
  
"I want a chocolate parfait," he says excitedly. "And strawberries in it with your blood on top!"  
  
Tetsu nods. "Okay. Kaho?"  
  
She jumps. "I, um, I would like a strawberry parfait." Her voice goes up at the end, like it's a question. Tetsu only nods again.  
  
"Okay. I should have enough for both of you."  
  
She starts, looking at him in shock even as Hugh cheers. "I-You don't have to pay for me," she sputters, and Tetsu closes his menu.  
  
"I would like to," he replies, trying to think of ways to get blood on Hugh's parfait.  
  
"I can pay for all of us," she says, frowning.  
  
Tetsu shakes his head. "It's fine."  
  
Hugh looks between them, appearing for all the world like a confused kid. "Tetsu, she can pay for herself. Besides, don't you want a parfait?"  
  
Kaho nods, crossing her arms and sitting back. "Exactly. So you get a parfait and I can pay for myself."  
  
Tetsu frowns at her, but, well, he does want a parfait and he's only fourteen. He doesn't exactly have a lot of money.  
  
"Okay," he says. "I already know what I want." He glances at Hugh. "Do you have any idea how to get blood on your parfait without alarming people?"  
  
Hugh points towards his fangs. "Yes."  
  
"Alright."  
  
"Why are you so unbothered by this," Kaho bursts out, looking like the day has finally got to her.  
  
Tetsu shrugs. He doesn't really know. Hugh is a friend now and he's used to his antics.  
  
"I'm the servamp of pride and been around for ages," Hugh says, speaking for both of them, "and Tetsu is very open minded."  
  
Tetsu nods at that. He is rather open minded.

"I just. I was saved from dying by a child that dresses like a stereotypical vampire and is actually older than he looks and is _actually a vampire_ and you already know this. I'm just so confused." She puts her hand on her forehead. "What the fuck happened to my life."  
  
"You almost died and I saved you," Hugh says. "And now you're a vampire."  
  
Tetsu doesn't say anything. That's basically it.  
  
A waitress walks up and smiles at them. It's a nice smile, if a not forced, Tetsu notes. "What can I get for you?"  
  
"A chocolate parfait with strawberries," Hugh chirps.  
  
Tetsu shrugs. "A vanilla parfait with blueberries."  
  
"A strawberry parfait, please." Kaho takes the menus and gives them to the waitress. "Thank you."  
  
The waitress nods and walks away. Tetsu watches her go. He should really decide if he likes girls or guys. Or both. Or none.  
  
He doesn't care, really, but everyone at school is questioning it and asking him. He might as well have an answer.  
  
"So." Kaho presses her hands to the table. "What did I just enter?"  
  
"I'm a servamp," Hugh says. "The second oldest behind Sleepy Ash and so the second most powerful. I form contracts with humans by them giving me and item and a name. Tetsu is my eve, the one I formed a contract with. Servant vampire - servamp. I have to follow his orders." Tetsu waves. "I can make subclasses who are also vampires by feeding dying humans my blood. I am immortal, as are my subclasses, but unlike my subclasses, I cannot be killed. Subclasses can be killed by a servamp drinking their blood. I am contracted to my eve until they die or the contract item is broken."

Kaho looks overwhelmed. "How do they get broken?"  
  
Hugh shrugs. "Normally, they can't be broken, _but_ that is only when the trust between a servamp and their eve is strong. If that trust is broken, the contract item will be broken, and the servamp will be free of the contract." He pauses. "That's basically it."  
  
Kaho blows out a breath, slumping into her seat. "So I'm a fictional character. Great."  
  
Hugh holds up his hands. "In my defense, I was created. Not birthed."  
  
Kaho scowls. Tetsu leans back and contemplates how to address this. "If it's any consolation, this was just as much as a surprise to me."  
  
Hugh snorts. "It's always a surprise." The waitress comes up and places his parfait in front of him and just like that serious Old Child disappears and Hugh is back. "Yes!"  
  
Kaho and Tetsu murmur a thank you as their parfaits are given. "So will I need to drink blood?"  
  
Hugh waves his spoon. "Yes. It's an essential part of your diet now. Thankfully, I have resources for my subclasses. I have all the blood I need from my eve."  
  
Kaho sighs, taking a bite of her parfait. "I didn't expect this when I moved here for my job."  
  
"Nobody ever expects to become a subclass," Hugh says simply. Tetsu bites into a blueberry.  
  
"Hugh," he says, holding out his arm. Hugh beams and sinks his fangs into his arm, waiting as it drips onto his parfait.  
  
"Thank you, Tetsu," Hugh says happily. Tetsu shrugs, pulling out a bandage from his bag, Kaho staring at him as though he's crazy.  
  
Hugh needs blood and he has a contract with Tetsu. It's only logical that he keeps bandages and makes sure to keep Hugh happy.  
  
Hugh takes a bite of his parfait, blood on his lips. "Any questions?"  
  
Kaho shakes her head slowly. "No."  
  
"Perfect." Tetsu finishes putting on the bandage and takes a bite of his parfait. "Do you want to go to the park with us or for me to call another one of my subclass nearby and have them teach you the ropes?"

"I'd...like to go home. And meet up with them tomorrow," she says, eyes wide, and Hugh nods.  
  
"Okay. Write down your address and I'll tell them where to go." He points his spoon at her. "Also your number and email. I need some way to contact you."  
  
Kaho pushes her parfait away, a twist to her lips that looks like disgust as she tries not to face Hugh's parfait. "I'm going to go now."  
  
Tetsu waves and she waves back as she leaves, the bell jingling as the door closes. Hugh chews on his strawberries and thinks. "I think she'll need a roommate," he says, matter-of-factly, and swallows some blood. "We need to go now."  
  
Tetsu nods and stands, pulling Hugh out of the chair and going up the counter to pay. Kaho had already paid for her's before she left.  
  
"Thank you, come again," calls the work as they leave, and Tetsu nods.  
  
"Maybe."

  
\--

  
  
"Hey, Hugh." Hugh makes a questioning noise, glancing up at him. "Want to go to the park?"  
  
Hugh swings his hands, skipping ahead and waiting for Tetsu to catch up. "Indeed!"  
  
"Okay. There's a park near here, if you want to go to that one." Tetsu points towards a convenience store. "It's around that corner."  
  
Hugh rushes forward, intent on getting there before his eve, and Tetsu takes two long steps before grabbing Hugh's cape. "No running off," he says sternly, and Hugh sticks his tongue out at him.  
  
"Let's _go,_ Tetsu!"  
  
"Wait," Tetsu retorts. "We have time."  
  
Hugh groans, slouching dow, as though waiting _physically_ pains him. "Tetsu," he says, "I want to go to the park."  
  
"I know you do," Tetsu says, unmoved, "but I don't want you to get hurt."  
  
Hugh gives a him baleful look. "I'm immortal. It's not like I would _die_ or anything."  
  
"I just don't like to see you hurt."  
  
And that makes Hugh stop short, eyes wide as he tilts his head. "Why?" He asks, as though the thought of someone caring is foreign to him. Maybe it has been for the last hundred years.  
  
Tetsu shrugs. "I care about you. I don't like seeing people I care about hurt."

Hugh sighs, reach up to tug at Tetsu's hand gently. "You're so stupid," he says affectionately, and his voice is an impossible mixture of wise and ignorant in equal measure. "So foolish."  
  
Tetsu doesn't take offense. He knows he is, compared to Hugh. Compared to Hugh, he's a mere baby. But - at the same time, he knows himself. He knows his emotions. Hugh doesn't. He represses and tries to forget and avoids topics that would bring up the past. Even Tetsu knows that isn't good. Earlier today proved that isn't good.  
  
"I know," he says simply, instead of what he wants to say. The words lay on his tongue, little words. _Talk to me,_ he wants to say. _Please,_ **_please_ ** _give yourself time to mourn. Please take care of yourself._  
  
The words fall to ash.  
  
"I know," he repeats, and curls his fingers around Hugh's ancient and oh-so-young ones. "But you're family."  
  
Hugh pulls the brim of his hat down to cover his eyes. "I'm going to leave, one day," he says, and his voice trembles. "I'm going to live long past you, live until your bones are dust and even then I'll live."  
  
Tetsu hums, keeping his eyes forward. Hugh doesn't want him to see this. "That doesn't change the fact you're family."  
  
"I've had bad experience with family," Hugh tells him, and Tetsu shrugs. "I did. My creator did - horrible things. My siblings and I have never gotten along."  
  
"And you're my family," Tetsu says steadily. "I want you unharmed and safe and happy." Hugh tightens his grip and Tetsu can hear his bones creak. "I'm your eve."  
  
And just like that, understanding clicks into place. Tetsu can feel it, in the hold Hugh has on his hand. "You're my eve," Hugh agrees and pushes his hat up, monocle glinting. "I get it."  
  
"I'm glad you do." Tetsu stops. "And we're at the park." Hugh lights up like a Christmas tree and runs towards the swings. Tetsu lets him, following slowly behind like always. "Hey, wait up."  
  
"Tetsu," Hugh shouts, climbing clumsily into a swing, "come push me!"

Tetsu sets his coffin down and hurries over, smiling a bit as Hugh kicks his feet, trying to get the swing going. "Okay." He grabs the chains, pulls them back, and pushes forward.  
  
Hugh shrieks with excitement, hand tight around his pipe, and his hat threatens to fly off. "Higher!"  
  
Tetsu chuckles quietly, grabbing Hugh's hat with one hand and throwing it onto the coffin when he comes back. Hugh's cape slaps his chest and his little legs flail back and forth.  
  
Hugh usually wants to do this by himself - _I'm_ **_pride,_ ** he complains - and Tetsu suspects that he's doing this so _Tetsu_ will feel better, not the other way around. He knows that his eve likes it when he's happy, or at least acting like it, so he's pretending to be it, even if he is behaving like an actual five year old.  
  
_You're so nice, Hugh,_ Tetsu thinks, and gives the swing a harder push.  
  
Hugh laughs, high pitched and gleeful, and flips off, cape flaring behind him. Tetsu swears his heart _stops._  
  
"Hugh," he yelps, scrambling forward, and Hugh poofs into a bat, circling back and turning back into the little boy he knows.  
  
"Are you okay, Tetsu," he asks, eyes a little worried, and Tetsu picks him up, holding him under his arm like a potato sack.  
  
"Let's go to the slides," he says, and ignores the way Hugh tries to escape, yelling about the injustice of this position. Hugh just scared him half to death. He can deal with this.  
  
"Tetsu!" Hugh flaps his arms about, glaring as much as the way Tetsu was holding him allowed. "My hat! Your Lead!"  
  
"They're five feet away," Tetsu says, setting Hugh on the top of a slide. "Nobody will steal a coffin." He gives Hugh a little push and Hugh whooshes down the slide, cape rising up to cover his head when he reached the end. "Besides, if they did, I would just take them back."  
  
Hugh puffs out his cheeks, scowling. "Thou art too confident, mine own eve. Someday, someone shall taketh advantage of yond."

Tetsu ruffles Hugh's hair, ignoring the grouchy pout thrown at him. “I have no idea what you said.”  
  
“I said you're too confident,” Hugh huffs, batting his hand sway and crossing his arms. “I worry. My eve you may be, you are still an inexperienced one. I don't wish for you to be hurt.”  
  
“Oh?” Tetsu folds his arms behind his head, looking up at the sky. “So like me with you?”  
  
Hugh opens his mouth, then closes it after a moment. "That was a dirty trick," he grouses. Tetsu grins, a rare sight.  
  
"Yeah," he agrees without an ounce of shame.

Hugh sticks his tongue out at him. "Maybe," he concedes, a touch resentful because he is pride and he hates losing fights, and turns around to march towards the monkey bars. Tetsu leans against the slide, merely watching as Hugh steadily climbs the ladder and peers at the cheerful yellow bars. His eyes narrow and he swings his legs up to make his knees catch on the metal, letting go of the ladder as soon as he does. He's officially hanging upside down with one hand on his hat to keep it on. Powerful servamp or not, he's still subject to the laws of gravity, if a bit less than the rest of the human population.  
  
"I am fine," he calls stubbornly. "See? I heal and I'm graceful."  
  
Tetsu, who had seen Hugh fall from a bookcase, land on his head, and proceed to cross his arms and glare at the ceiling without moving where he lay for ten minutes just yesterday, raises an eyebrow at this. Hugh is many things, but graceful he is not. "I'm not so sure about that second bit," he replies, slightly amused.  "Hugh, you have the body of a five year. You are clumsy sometimes."  
  
"I am centuries old," Hugh protests, wrinkling his nose.  
  
"You are," Tetsu agrees. "But your legs are too big and you wear a lot of heavy things. You are very much not someone who will not fall flat on their face every other minute."  
  
"Tetsu," Hugh says, a frown on his face as he takes in the simple logic. "Stop arguing with me."

"Never."  
  
"You are a terrible eve," Hugh tells him, cape starting to brush against the mulch as he absently swings back and forth.  
  
"I am a wonderful eve," Tetsu retorts, crossing his arms. "You are the one who cannot accept reality."  
  
"I know where you sleep," Hugh says, voice with a touch of warning. "I can sneak into your room."  
  
"To do what?" Tetsu snorts. "Get into bed with me because you're constantly cold?"  
  
Hugh hisses. "You got me there."  
  
"I know." Tetsu nods. "Do you want to go home now?"  
  
Hugh holds out his arms, pipe held tight in one hand. "Take me home, Tetsu. I want a nap."  
  
Tetsu picks up the coffin, gently swings Hugh onto his hip, and starts to walk home. Hugh squirms until he's hanging off of his shoulder, fingers gripping Tetsu's shirt.  
  
"Can you help with my English work," Tetsu asks after a moment.  
  
"Of course, Tetsu."

**Author's Note:**

> Tetsu got a little bit sassy at the end, I'll admit. But I have a headcanon he can be fucking savage and entirely judgemental. He just hides it.
> 
> Comments are always loved! What do you think of my characterization of Tetsu and Hugh? Did I do well?


End file.
